Trying to catch up on blogging but admitting that too much has happened so I end up just rambling....

I haven't blogged in a little bit. I had plans to post back-to-school photos, Fall photos etc. But my computer is being dumb and won't upload pictures from my memory cards. Grrr!!!
But I figured I better get back to at least writing on this blog. Hopefully I can figure out how to get some photos on here soon...
2nd Grade started for V. last month. She has  a great teacher! She already knew about half the kids in her class which made her comfortable and excited. After a month of school, she is still loving it and comes home everyday eager to talk about her day! She had a bad fall on the gravel at recess one day and when she got home all she had was a band aid on. When I took it off, I saw there was still gravel and dirt in her cut and skin. Steve cleaned it and she cried because it hurt so bad! We were a little worried it might get infected. After 4 days it was still bleeding and not scabbing over. But we kept washing it and putting fresh band aids on and it did finally scab over. Now it looks like a little scar on her knee. It seems like every Fall when V. is back in school it only takes a couple days before she comes home with band aids all over her legs/knees. She just gets running so fast and having fun! I guess it's a sign of childhood to have band aids on your knees all the time, right?
V. already met her goal in the A.R. testing/reading program they do. I'm not too familiar with this. But she said her goal was a 4. She was at 2. 5. Then she read a Magic Treehouse book {a series she is loving right now!}and she said because it was a chapter book it was worth 3 points. So she took her test on it and got her score/points up to 5.5. So she says that means she gets to eat lunch with her teacher for meeting her goal! { I love that kids love the reward of eating lunch with their teacher!} Anyway, we are out for Harvest break right now, so she will get her reward when school starts back up.
Steve has been hunting this month and he shot a bull elk with his bow 2 weeks ago. He was by himself and it was back in aways, so it took him about 9 hours to cut it up, skin it and pack it out. We decided to get all but the backstrap in ground meat. We picked up the meat from the processor the other day and it feels so good knowing/seeing our freezer full of fresh, lean meat!
Steve's brother, Mike is staying with us this week and Steve has the week off work. The 2 of them have been out hunting trying to get Mike an elk. Tuesday they took V. with them and she was thrilled and had the time of her life! They got into some elk. Steve stayed with V. in the truck where they watched the elk through the spotting scope. Mike was creeping up on the herd when a truck went by and spooked them all. SO he didn't get any, but like I said, V. had the time of her life. She loved that she got to ride in the back of the pick up {with Mike} as well. That's just part of growing up in Idaho!
Yesterday Steve and Mike went out again and found the herd of elk again. They crept up and Mike took a shot but the wind caught his arrow. SO he missed. And the elk were spooked and took off. Oh well, they have a few more days before Mike goes home to try to get him an elk.
Oh, so much more to talk about, but I feel like I'm just rambling on....
Next week is also Harvest Break and we have a fun event that week that I'll post about later! :)

37 Reasons I Love Steve

Today is Steve's birthday. He turned 37! So I thought I'd share 37 reasons why I love him!{Even though there are many, many more!}

1} He makes me laugh!
2} He snores. Sometimes it keeps me awake, but usually the sound of his snoring is comforting.
3} He works hard to provide for us.
4} He encourages and supports my desire to be a stay at home mom.
5} I love when he grabs me and starts humming a tango tune and twirls me around and dips me.
6} I love the way his tongue sticks out a little when he is focusing/working on something.
7} He always lets me have the last piece of pie or cake.
8} He spoils our daughter {and me}.
9} I love when he starts tickling matches with V., or I or the both of us!
10} He takes me for rides in the mountains in the Fall because he knows I love Fall so much.
11} He loves me even when I say or do stupid things.
12} He is always the first to be humble and say sorry when we have a disagreement.
13} He sometimes brings a no-bake cookie home from the cafeteria at work for me because he knows I like them.
14} His facial wrinkles. I love knowing that those wrinkles are a sign of living life. Laugh lines,worry lines, lines from hard work, etc. I love that we are going through these life experiences together.
15} I love that he lets me warm my cold feet on his warm ones in bed.
16} He laughs at my jokes.
17} He makes me feel beautiful because he tells me I am.
18} He is a worthy Priesthood holder. And he uses his Priesthood power to heal and bless and lead us.
19} I love when he spends time with V. She adores him and he adores her. 2 peas in a pod they are!
20} He is forgiving. Many times I have said or done things that aren't right and are hurtful to others. He always forgives me.
21} He holds my hand.
22} He takes care of me when I'm sick. Or like now, with the restrictions I have because of my back he does my housework for me.
23} He brings me breakfast in bed every Mother's Day. { Usually donuts and hot cocoa.}
24} He holds his tongue and comments back when I'm being crazy. Like some of my O.C.D. things I do that really are rather silly but I HAVE to do anyway!
25} I love the way he snuggles up to me at night.
26} I love how he plays with V. and encourages her to follow her dreams.
27} He supports me in my hobbies and craft selling business.
28} He has been to almost all of my races and always has flowers or something for me when I finish.
29} I love when he puts his arms around me while I'm in the kitchen. And sometimes a kiss follows! ;)
30} I love that even though it seems like we always have a doctors bill needing to be paid off and it's usually because of me, he never complains about it or makes me feel bad about it.
31} I love how he sometimes will stay up late at night when I have a migrain and rub my head and neck until I fall asleep.
32} He is so patient with me.
33} He knows my favorite flower, color, candy, food, musicians, and most of my favorite movies.
34} I love how sometimes all we have to do is look at each other and immediately know what the other is thinking!
35} He is so easy going.
36} He is my calming agent. Back when I was in the Primary Presidency and it would be my turn to do Sharing Time, he would always stand outside in the hall where I could see him through the open door. I always got so nervous{ even had a panic attack a couple of times }. Being able to see him always comforted and calmed me.
37} He loves me. Just the way I am!

So grateful

Steve spent all day yesterday and into the night working on our bathroom. We are finally getting some updating done! There is still alot to do in there and we are hoping that each month we can get a little more done and hopefully by the end of the summer have the bathroom completely redone! Anyway, he worked so hard and I felt bad I couldn't help him. But because of my back, I couldn't do anything but watch. He also carried all  the laundry downstairs for me so I could wash it.
Then today he vacuumed the entire house for me as well. Yes, it's the Sabbath. But since what I can do with the house cleaning is limited, Sundays are the best days for Steve to help.
{V. has vacuumed a couple times this week as well.}
Plus, the other morning I got in the truck and discovered it was full of gas. Steve had filled it up the night before while I was asleep. Now, I CAN do the gas myself still, but he wanted to do it so I wouldn't have to worry about it.
I'm so grateful for him. He works all week to provide for us. Works all Saturday to get the bathroom done. And he still takes the time to help me. I know he really cares for me. These are all small ways a person can show another how much they love them.
Okay, I'll quit being sappy and bragging about Steve. But I count my blessings to have him as a husband. He's so good to me!

Charlotte Fire

This is from last Summer. There was a HUGE fire in the MinkCreek area. So many homes were destroyed. It was really sad to see all the devastation. They had a clean up day where people from all different denominations came together to clean up. Trees had to be chopped down and cleared away, rubble cleared away, just lots of hard work. This is the group from our Ward that went down to help. Steve is in the back, 4th from the left. The men had soot all over from head to toe. We ended up just throwing Steve's clothes away afterwards. There was no way we'd get them clean! It was hard work, Steve was sore and tired when he got home. But he said is was an awesome experience. The lady whose property they were cleaning up bought them all pizza for lunch. She helped in any way she could. Her house was gone, she had lost everything, but Steve said her spirits were high and she was planning on rebuilding.
I'm grateful that we live in a community where strangers come together in times of need and help each other out! {I was also happy to see a few young men in the group! How awesome that they took a Saturday to do service! And I'm happy their fathers brought them along to show them the goodness of helping another!}

Today's thoughts....

* Last night my dream was in black and white. I vaguely remember Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and Will Smith. That's it. That's all I remember!
* The wind has been howling non-stop since sometime last night. Even now, I can hear it blowing the snow against the windows. But it almost sounds more like a rain sound then snow...I just checked. It's snow. Just harder sounding I guess.
* My back has been feeling better the last few days! I'm hoping this means that as I continue taking it easy my back will continue to heal!
Steve and V. have been so good! V. has been vacuuming for me, helping me carry in groceries, and helping to remind me to not lift this or that. Steve has been taking out the garbage, carrying laundry around for me, and all sorts of other stuff!
I hate being more dependant on them, but am so grateful for them!
* Steve and his dad gave me a priesthood blessing the other night. I am so grateful that Steve honors his priesthood and actively exercises his priesthood power. I know that my back will heal if I follow my chiropractors advice, and have faith that the Lord will help with the healing process if I follow His promptings, and guidance.
* Here in a little bit we are going to go for a drive in the truck. We enjoy sometimes just driving around as a family. There should be some awesome snow drifts to drive through!

Facebook status from a year ago today~

2 things~
1:For some reason V. has been calling Steve 'my bus' for about a week n...ow. She'll go around saying,"Hey Bus this, hey Bus that" etc. Weird.
2: I'm loving how craft blogs are starting to show Halloween crafts and some are even starting Christmas crafts. WHEEEEE! I LOVE IT

I totally had forgotten how she used to call him that! Kinda fun to remember.....

Steve's early Birthday present

Steve's birthday isn't until later this month. However, a friend of ours,Nate, called me a couple of months ago and suggested  we mount Steve's Pope and Young record making antlers from this deer for his birthday. He said he could do the work and everything. So I said okay.

Now, Steve is very proud of these antlers. He had them hanging in the garage so that he could see them every time he pulled in. So I told Nate he had to wait until the last possible moment before taking the antlers. Because I knew he would notice them missing. He called me a couple of Saturdays ago and told me he was ready for them. So, while Steve was napping I had Nate come over to get them. He had brought another pair of antlers to trade for Steve's, in the hopes he wouldn't notice them missing. So for the next few days I kept waiting for Steve to come in and tell me his antlers were missing. But so far, he hadn't noticed we had switched them out! Finally, Nate said the deer was done, so we set up a a time to go out to dinner with him and his wife and son, with the plan to go to their house later to make the grand reveal! So we get in the car, and was almost ready to pull out of the garage when I see Steve staring at the antlers that were hanging up in the garage. I was like,"Oh Crap! He's noticed!" But I said to him,"What are you looking at? Let's go, or we'll be late!" I was trying to distract him but it didn't work. He gets out of the car and walks up to the antlers. Then he turns around to me and mouths,"What the..!" He then looks around a little bit. Then gets in the car. I asked him what was wrong and he says," Someone stole my antlers and replaced them with a different set!" I acted all innocent and played along, rather well, I might add. Finally, after we'd been in the car for a little bit driving to dinner, he turned to me and asked if I had anything to do with his antlers missing. if not, he was going to call the police. So I told him I knew where they were and that they were safe. He was so relieved! He tried to get more details from me, but I wouldn't tell him anything. So we had dinner with our friends and then went to their house. They had a bunch of heads hanging on their walls. Nate told Steve to pick one out and take it home. At first Steve didn't understand. Then he looked at the far wall and said,"There are my antlers!" He was so surprised and pleased!

 

Steve and Nate talking about the deer and antlers.

Steve said this is the best birthday present he has ever gotten! Score! I'm the best wife ever!

[Now I just gotta find somewhere I'm comfortable having this deer head hanging!}

My two loves!

Look at these two cuties! My sweethearts!

This was taken at Outback when we were having dinner with some friends last month.

And this photo was a couple of weeks ago. I was making dinner and I heard V.

ask Steve if he would play with her. I came in to find this~

They were playing with her magnetic princess dolls. She was reading Beauty and the Beast

and they were acting it out with the dolls. So precious, isn't it?

I thank the Lord every day for these two. I love them to pieces!

My two Sweethearts!

Steve and V. are my two Valentine Sweethearts! I love them both with all my heart and am grateful to have them!

Steve's Mule Deer

Steve had success Friday night! He called me at around 8:00 to tell me he took a shot at a mule buck, and got it! He was pretty excited!

This is his second buck ever. Last year it was a white tail buck,{that made the Pope and Young record books}.
Anyways, here's another shot of his mule. He shot it with a bow.

He still has a doe and cow tag. So the hunting season is far from over!

'My heart is hurting'

V. was sobbing to Steve,' You're hurting my heart! You're hurting my heart!'
'How am I hurting your heart?' he asked.
She replied,' You're not letting me watch Thomas the train engine! And I really want to! That's how you're hurting my heart!'
Ohhhh, that makes me want to cry to hear her say something like that. But it also makes me want to laugh! Am I a bad mom for thinking that? It's just that sometimes she amazes me {and makes me laugh} with the things she says!

Steve's Elk

So here's Steve's first elk! He went out on the desert with our friend Nate. He shot it at 600 yards. He had alot of fun and was glad Nate helped him out. We owe him and his wife some steak one of these nights!

Great job honey! I love the fact that our freezer is full of meat for the winter! {Even though I'm still trying to get used to eating wild meat!}

Another Victory!

Well, Steve called to tell me he shot his elk at around 4:00 this afternoon!
{we were supposed to be getting family photos done at 4:00}
I'm so glad he got his elk. This means he'll be able to spend more time at home the rest of the season since he is now done. Unless he decides to go out with friends....
I'm so glad that we are going to have a full freezer of meat this winter! I'm not a huge fan of wild game, but hey, it's free meat! So I'm not complaining!
Steve has had alot of fun this year with his hunting. It makes me happy to see him doing something he enjoys.
Hopefully he has taken some good pictures so I'll be able to post them later!


P.S.
Our photographer had a family thing that lasted longer than she thought it would, so we couldn't do photos anyway. Still, Steve didn't know that! He was supposed to be home before 4:00! He's lucky the photographer couldn't do it, or I'd be mad at him for putting his elk hunting before family!


I'm just kidding! That's one way we show our love for each other. We tease each other sooo bad!

Steve is victorious!

Last night Steve called me on the cell phone and told me he had shot his deer! "Oh, Good," I say. He tells me it's a white tail buck with antlers." You're joking." " No. I'm serious!", "Get out."
" I'm so not joking! I just shot a 12 point buck!"
He was so excited! He could barely talk on the phone!

Steve telling the story of shooting it, and how fast his heart was beating with excitement.

Steve hunts with a bow. He said he shot it right thru the heart and lungs. A perfect shot!

This is his first buck ever!

He's still on cloud nine! He is so happy! And it makes me happy to see him get so excited and happy. So, YAY! He did it, and he did it good! Now he just has to wait for Elk season to start...

Things that go bump in the night.

So early, early, EARLY, this morning, we heard a thump, coming from our closet. Steve checked it out. We don't know what made the noise. But, to be on the safe side, Steve walked thru the house to make sure everything was okay.
He turned on the light above the stairs and started heading down. When he reached the bottom he went to flip on the basement light. While doing so, he accidentally flipped the overhead stair light off. So the overhead light suddenly went off.
He said it scared him and made him jump!
Now, this may not seem like much to you. But, you must understand that it's hard to scare Steve, he doesn't scare easily. But he loves to scare me by jumping out from around the corner, or whispering my name in the dark when I pass the opened front door.
So it made me laugh to know that he got scared.
Even funnier because he scared himself! HAHAHA!

YAY!

Steve found out today that he drew an elk hunt. He is so excited! This will be his first time hunting elk. He also will hunt deer this year.


Personally, I'm really hoping he gets his elk. Elk meat is so much better tasting then deer meat. He hunts with a bow, so it is more challenging and fun.

This is a picture of him from last year.


Anyhoo, he's real excited and can't wait for the season to start!

My Hubby

I was tagged and posted this note on my facebook account. A friend mentioned I should post it on here as well. At least, I think this was the note she was talking about! I won't tag anyone, but if you want to do it, have fun! ( I just noticed there is no #5...)

This is Steve taking down his game cam that he uses when he goes hunting. It snapped a picture of him. Blurry I know, but whenever I try to take a picture of him he's either not being seriouse, or something like that...Sad that a game cam can get a better picture, huh?

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the TV? soccer, dirtbike races, skateboarding,So you think you can dance, Hell's kitchen

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? He calls salad rabbit food. On the rare occasion he does eat one he'll have ranch dressing.

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Onions, peppers,tomatoes

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order to drink? Dr. Pepper

6. What size shoe does he wear? 9

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Dirt bike posters, autographs,post cards. Whenever we go anywhere he wants to buy post cards!

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Italian B.M.T.(subway)

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? Let's see...he already practically inhales soda.But a food?....pizza

10. What is his favorite cereal? Corn pops

11. What would he never wear? A leotard!

12. What is his favorite sports team? L.A.Lakers

13. Who did he vote for? ....He was in St. Louis at the time and didn't get around to doing the absentee vote or whatever it was he was supposed to do!

14. Who is his best friend? Me!

15. What is something you do that he wished you wouldn't do? Nag. Yes! I'm a nagging wife! Not very often, but sometimes it's the only way I can get him to do something for me! (This makes him sound like he dosent' do anything. He does alot! But sometimes he needs a little prodding...)

16. What is his heritage? His dad is white(American), His mom is Navajo. So he's half 'n' half!

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? Either a cherry cheesecake or strawberry shortcake!

18.Did he play sports in high school? He played soccer for Blackfoot. Even though he attended Snake River. But back in the stone age, Snake River didn't have a soccer team!

19. What could he spend hours doing? Working on his bikes. Or maybe...hunting. I'll also add golfing and surfing!

20. What is one unique talent he has? He's a very selfless person. He always puts me and V. first. He has integrity. And he loves me for who I am!

21. What is his favorite thing to do when you have a night together? uhh........

22. Does he always have to drive, or does he let you drive? He doesn't HAVE to drive. He drives most of the time just 'cause that's how we've always done it.

23. Do you ever fight? Of course. Who dosen't? It's the making up that's so good!

24. If he were to buy you a gift, what would he get you? Flowers, chocolate, and either a dvd or a cd, sometimes jewelry.

.25. Was it love at first sight? It certainly was!! We met on a blind date...long story...

Well, Steve has been in San Diego since last Friday. He and his brother go every year to the super-cross(motorcycles) race down there. They also do some surfing and skateboarding and just have fun hanging out! My sister Rachael came up this weekend and we hung out a little and she and I and my older sister( and V.) went to see a movie and dinner afterwards. It was fun!
But V. and I are ready for Steve to be home! He is flying into Boise this evening and his brother will drive him to Twin Falls where V. and I will pick him up and bring him home! I can't wait to have him home! I don't like driving in the dark, so V. and I will leave this afternoon for Twin Falls and hang out at the mall and such until Steve gets there. Oh, it will be nice to have things back to normal again!

The count down begins...

One week to go until we see Steve! I'm so excited. We've actually been counting down from the moment Steve left, but now we're almost there. We fly out of Salt Lake next Wednesday. And won't be back until the third of Dec. V. is so excited too. She was at a friends house last week and the mom told me that V. told them she was going on a plane in two weeks to see daddy.

On a different note, people want to see V. in her Halloween outfit. My digital camera is broken so I took pictures with a film camera. I should get the photos back tomorrow and will get try to get them on the computer this weekend. I'll also try to post some photos from her b-day party...

My husband

I saw this on a friend's blog and she tagged anyone who read hers. Steve is kinda shy and so alot of people don't really know him. So here's a little info on my guy...



1. What is his name? Stephen Jeff Hammond, nicknames- Steve, scuba and /or scuba steve

2. Who eats more? At mealtimes it's me, but he snacks alot more in the evenings then I do.

3. Who said I love you first? Boy, I really don't know... I think I told him I was falling for him first, but actually saying I love you? We discussed this once and we both don't know who said it first, it was so natural and we knew we were meant to be it all just sort of happened!

4. Who is taller? Steve is, just the right height!

5. Who is smarter? Steve has alot more common sense and street smarts, I'm budget smart, he says I know more religion stuff, but I think we balance out. What I don't know he does, and vice versa.

6. Who is more sensitive? Steve is such a sweet and sensitive guy,(in a good way!), but I'm certainly more emotional! ( he can be domineering and manly when needed!)

7. Who does the laundry? I do. And it seems to be never ending! Steve might help me put stuff away, once in a while...

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you're looking at the bed from the foot of it, he does.

9. Who pays the bills? Steve earns the money to pay the bills. But I'm the one who writes the checks and sends them off. If it was up to him he would forget and nothing would get paid!

10. Who does most of the cooking? If we need to grill something outside, Steve does it. Other wise I'm the main cook in the house, He would just mess my kitchen up and not put things back where they go! (he has cooked if I'm not up to it and he's good at it!)

11. What meals do you cook together? If we're grilling outside, I prepare the food and he cooks it, otherwise he sits in the kitchen and we either watch a movie or talk while I cook.

12. Who is more stubborn? I'd have to say both of us. Maybe me a little more, but there have been times when neither of us backs down!

13. Who is the first to admit that they are wrong?umm... I guess Steve. We really haven't had alot of arguments, I hate admitting I'm wrong, Steve won't come right out and say he's wrong, but he'll make me sit down so we can talk things over.

14. Who has more siblings? It depends on how you look at it. Steve- three brothers five sisters. Me- three brothers and two sisters, but I also have six step-brothers and one step-sister. Family get togethers with both our families are fun!

15. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Steve does, but we never do anything without discussing it together and if one of us dosen't want to, then we don't do it. His friends tease him about getting permission from me, but that's if it involves money and he only asks me because I balance the checkbook and he wants to know if we have enough money to do something.

16. What do you like to do together? We like to do everything and anything together! We enjoy spending time with family, we watch a lot of movies together, go shopping together, tease each other badly! Steve loves to come home and play with V. He likes to do stuff outdoors with her( usually so I can have some time to myself) We just love being a family!!

17. Who eats more sweets? Well... I eat more chocolate, but Steve drinks WAY more pop and energy drinks then I do.

18. What is his guilty pleasure? That is for my ears only...

19. How did you meet? Well... We had a baby being blessed in our ward and the mom was friends with Steve's family. So Steve and his sister Randi and mom were there in church that day. He saw me and figured I was already taken or out of his leage or something. So he just mentioned to his mom I was cute and left it at that. His mom called his dad's cousin,Bonnie, who lives in our ward and asked about me. Bonnie called me up, asked if I was dating anyone and could she give my number to her cousin's son? I said sure. Steve didn't call for a few weeks, and I forgot about it. He was chasing another girl who turned out to be married(another story, he didn't know she was married!) When that didn't work out, he finally called me up and we set a date to go out. When he came to pick me up my brother met him at the door, called him some other guys name by mistake, and we finally shook hands and introduced ourselves to each other.

20. Who asked who out first? See story above.

21. Who kissed who first? After two weeks of dating, we held hands and Steve asked if I thought we had been dating long enough to kiss. I said yes, but at the end of the date, I had changed my mind! He asked me for a kiss for two more weeks and was so patient with me! Finally, the first Saturday in October, we were in Salt Lake at General Conference. We were on the balcony of the conference center over looking the street across from the temple. I realized I loved him for who he was and not because he spoiled me and gave me attention. I realized I wanted to be with him for forever, so I turned to him and told him he could kiss me. And that's were we had our first kiss!

22. Who proposed? Again, another long story! We knew we were getting married but Steve didn't want to propose until he had enough money to pay cash for the ring. He wouldn't let me start planning the wedding until he had proposed. I was starting to get panicky, summer is a busy time at the temple for weddings and if we wanted to get the date we wanted we needed to start getting things going. So finally, we were in the car and he turned to me and said,"Fine, Will you marry me? Now you can start planning the wedding!" I started crying because he had just proposed, he felt bad he didn't have a ring yet, so he gave me the ring he was wearing. A month later he actually got on one knee and gave me my engagement ring and proposed for the second time!

23. His best features? I love everything about him! I love his eyes, mouth, his dimple, I LOVE his body, his smile, and the way he treats me and our daughter.

24. What is his greatest quality? I love his kindness. He is one of the most unselfish people I know! He always puts me and V. before himself. I love his testimony and his way of doing what he knows to be the right thing. He is a silent person, but has a big heart and is there to help anyone out when needed. He is such an example to his family. I love his integrity. Before meeting me, when he was on his own, he had many chances to fall away from the church or do things that are opposite of what we believe in. But he never did any of it. He has always been there for me and I know he always will be. I don't know how to say in words how I feel about him. He is an example to me, and I love him with all my heart! I thank the Lord for giving me such a good husband!

25. I tag anyone who reads this!